Whew! New layout is here!

My new layout is finally here! You notice I didn't say, "My new layout is finally done!" - because it is not. Ugh.

As most of you know, I attempted to this whole thing myself - basically by using tutorials all over the web. Then when my computer crashed a few weeks ago, I lost all the tutorial sites I was using. The basics were done - column, etc. - but I am having trouble with the headings of each section.

Basically they should all look like the "About Me" and "Layout Design" blurbs. The picture is right above it, part of the "gadget" (as Blogger calls it). I can't figure out how to do the same to my followers, blogs I read, awards, and more that I will be adding. Right now I just added the headers in as a picture gadget - which causes them to float way above that blurb and not really look like a part of it.

Anyone know how I can fix this?

I will still be changing the header each month to update the girls pictures, and will probably just change the background designs with the seasons.

Sooooooooooooooo ... tell me what you think!

Circa 1991

Someone please tell me why my cheeks needed to see better.

A-Z on Mondays: L is for Laugh

Katie and Maddie laugh all the time. They are just little boxes of giggles with bows on top. They are getting much better at posing for me for pictures - except when they start cracking up!

Their newest "thing" is to take all their plush into the living room and line them up in the picture window and play store. It was so cute I wanted to take some pictures.

Then I decided since I was getting such a shadow, I'd stick them on the other wall and take some closeups. Mayhem ensued.

They were laughing. I was laughing. It was awesome.

Come back next week for "M" - and for more "A-Z on Mondays" visit Jen over at Unglazed!

I forgot how bad paint smells

The living room is almost done! Just three coats left (one on ceiling, two on walls) plus some touch ups here and there. The wall on the stairs probably won't be done in time for the girls' party - but as long as the main area is done I'll be happy.

Once the party is over we will put the boxes of hardwood (which are now in our garage) into the living room and dining room so they can acclimate to to the temp in here. I'm hoping to have the guys come back on the 13th or so to start that. Demo is going to be another mess - we have to rip up the existing hardwood in the living room first. "Why are you ripping up hardwood to put some right back down again, Rose?" I hear you all saying.

Our dining room is an addition (completed way before we got here) and there is only subfloor under the carpet. We are laying down prefinished hardwood (so we don't have to go through the whole sanding/laquering mess) and if we don't change the flooring in the living room then the two rooms won't match. They have a common floor that flows into each room. It'll just look plain silly.

We had the prefinised hardwood in the townhouse and we loved it. It's 100% real wood, so in the future if we decided to sand and refinish we can still do that.

Here are some pics of the guys in action - and Andy putting up the insulation. My favorites are when they are vacuuming my floor. :)

Uncle Matt and Aunt Jenny visit

About a month ago Andy's brother and his wife, Matt and Jenny, came to visit us all and spend some time with the girls. They haven't seen them since they were a couple of months old and they were blown away by how big the girls are now! Matt is a doctor in the Air Force and Jenny is an auditor like Andy. They are stationed in Mississippi now, but will most likely be moving again in the next couple of years.

Andy's parents came over and we all had a great couple of days together. Maddie started playing with them right away - and although it took Katie a little longer to warm up, once she did they all had a great time!

Aunt Jenny had done her research and wanted to take the girls to the NJ Children's Museum in Paramus. We went right as they opened on a Sunday morning and it was wonderful. It's a big hands-on museum with themed rooms - castle, music, medicine, kitchen, fire engine, science, crafts, space, sand, computers, house, etc. They had a great time (Maddie had trouble moving from one room to the next - but she was fine once she started playing in the new room).

Here is a little slide show of their visit ... and we really hope to see them again soon!

A-Z on Mondays: K is for Katie

K is for Katie.

I picked out the name Katherine when I was just a little girl. I always knew it would be the name of my first daughter.

Katie is like me in so many ways - and so different from me at the same time. I love her spirit and independence, although I know that means she will one day want to leave me and explore the world. She has curiosity. She has will and determination. She wants to do it all - and all by herself. I am so proud of her and I can't wait to see the woman she will become. I am totally crying right now.

From birth to today ... Katie ...

I love you forever, kid.

(For more "A-Z on Mondays" visit Jen over at Unglazed!)

Changes are a comin'

I finally figured out how to redesign my own blog! Yay! I got my three column layout (I loved yours so much, Tiff, afraid it's a bit of a copy - hope you don't mind!) and I designed the background and header myself. I will reveal all in April ... but here is a tease ...

I really want to be able to do a new header for each month, like I always have - but I don't know if that will entail a new background every month. Things that make you go "hmmmm ..."